Mario Party 4
Template:Infobox Mario Party 4 is the fourth game in the Mario Party series, and the first for the Nintendo GameCube. It follows the original style of board-game gameplay, as well as the use of many items and minigames. The game's goal, as with most of the others, is to collect the most stars. It is also the first Mario Party game to allow players to team up. The game won the Family Game Of The Year award at the Interactive Achievement Awards of 2003.
Plot
"Toad, Koopa, and a whole host of party patrons have arrived on the mysterious Party Cube to celebrate YOUR Birthday Party!"
"But giving you presents would be way too easy, so you're going to have to win the presents by playing a game or two!"
"Now let's get this party started!"
Mario and company are enjoying the outdoors when a mysterious cloud forms in the distance. As the cloud moves closer, a giant bag appears to be floating in the sky. The bag opens up to reveal Toad, Koopa, Goomba, Shy Guy, and Boo, who invite Mario and the gang to party in the Party Cube.
It's the player's birthday and every host wants to give a present to the player, but the player must play in each host's board and win a special minigame to get the present. The player manages to get every single present from every host, but Bowser shows up and threatens to steal every present the player has, unless the player agrees to go to Bowser's board and win, and the player accepts Bowser's challenge.
The player manages to win and Koopa Kid congrats the player for winning, but Bowser tricks the player into believing that he took all of the player's presents and the two fight in a final battle. The player manages to beat Bowser and he runs away and leaves one present behind. Koopa Kid explains that Bowser never took the player's presents.
Toad then appears and said that there is still someone who didn't give their gift to the player. Then Toad points to the sky and a Star is seen, zipping across the sky revealing a constellation of the character's winning pose.
In the epilogue shows the five hosts without their costumes, following after the moving Party Cube. After a few seconds, the Party Cube blasts off into space, never to be seen again.
Playable Characters
Beach Volley Folley exclusive
Boards
| Image | Board Name | Description |
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Toad's Midway Madness | Players have to maneuver their way around the amusement park, with the common goal being to find Toad; he is the host of the board. A notable part of this board is the tea cup rides, that, when ridden on, change direction they will make the player take in any junction a ride is located at. Another notable part of this board is the roller coaster, which players can take to get from the bottom-left part of the board to the top-right part and vice versa. If any other players are on the roller coaster, then they will also be taken to the corner of the board that the player in the cart is to appear at. Players riding he cart may also use  to lean the cart for the player to collect Coins that are placed among the track.
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Koopa's Seaside Soiree | Players must make sure to make their way around the beach, with the common goal to find Koopa, as he is this board's host. A notable feature of this board is the Koopa Kabana. When a player passes the Kabana Space, said player will be forced to pay 5 Coins to Koopa (if a player cannot pay the full fee, then he or she will pay to the best of their capabilities) in order to repair it. Whenever a player lands on a Happening Space that is on front of it, he or she must pay the amount of Coins already spent on the Kabana. After this, the Kabana will be destroyed. Another attraction of this board is the Dolphins, who are summoned by landing on a Happening Space that is located on a dock with a picture of a fruit on. The dolphin will then escort the player to the dock with the corresponding fruit on it. |
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Goomba's Greedy Gala | Players must make sure that they manage to obtain Stars by getting to Goomba, the host of this board. The most notable feature of this board is the roulette in the very middle of it. When players pass the roulette, a Goomba will ask for an optional payment of either five, ten or twenty Coins. The more a player pays to the Goomba, the more likely it is that the ball will land on the route closest to the Star. If the ball lands on a Star, then the player will procure 20 Coins, and they will also get to freely choose what path to trek down. Another notable feature of this board is the dice areas. When a player passes a dice area, a Goomba will appear, roll a number on a Dice Block, and then the player has to beat that number by rolling a higher one than the Goomba rolled. If the player wins, then he or she gets ten coins, but if the player fails, then he or she will be taken to the Start Space. |
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Boo's Haunted Bash | The main goal of this board is for the players to reach Boo; he is the host of this board. There are two notable features on this board; the Red Boo bridges, and the Mystery Train. The Red Boo bridges work in such a way that, when a player passes by the center of the board, where the leader of the Red Boos is, he and the bridges will disappear, among with the other Red Boos. The Mystery Train is also effected by the disappearance of the Red Boos; when the Red Boos are active, the Mystery Train will be inactive and vice versa. When the Mystery Train is active, and is passed by a player, it will take the player to any graveyard on the board. The player sitting on the Mystery Train is able to control it when passing junctions. If any other players are in the path of the train, then they will be picked up as well. |
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Shy Guy's Jungle Jam | The goal for this board is for the players to get to Shy Guy; he is the host of this board. Notable parts of this board are the Shy Guy mountain and Klepto the condor. If a player lands on a Happening Space that is located in front of a Shy Guy statue, the statue will ask for the player to make either a happy wish, or to make a sad wish. If the statue finds the wish to its enjoyment, it will change the board in any way; however, if the wish is not to the statue's liking, it will flood the river, splitting the board into two parts for three turns. When a player passes by Klepto(who is in the top-left corner part of the board), he will ask the player if he or she wants to pay five Coins to him for him to take the player to the bottom-right corner of the map. While he is taking the player to the destined location, the player can steer with the to grab coins that are in the air(and from an eruption from the volcano if it erupts).
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Bowser's Gnarly Party (unlockable) | In order for players to receive Stars on this board, they will have to get to Koopa Kid; he is the host for this board. There are two prominent features of this board; the two stone bridges, and Bowser himself. When a player crosses over a stone bridge, it will crumble apart a little. After three players cross a stone bridge, it will fully crumble apart and a new one will appear in a different direction. Bowser will randomly miniaturise all players during one turn. If a player reaches Bowser at normal size, Bowser will take away half of the player's Coins(but he will give fifty to players who have no Coins). If a player reaches Bowser while mini, Bowser will send the player to the start space in the middle of the board. If a player reaches Bowser when the player is megasized, then Bowser will challenge that player in one of the following minigames; Bowser Wrestling, or Panels of Doom. If the player loses, half of his or her Coins will be taken by the Koopa king, but if the player wins, then Bowser will leave the board until the next Star has been bought. |
Items
| Image | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File:Mega Mushroom.JPG | Mega Mushroom | The Mega Mushroom causes players to grow tremendous and also allows another dice block to get rolled. When players pass anyone, they steal ten coins from the player they crush. However, this item bypasses most board events; Ex.: players cannot purchase any stars while giant. |
| File:Mini Mushroom.JPG | Mini Mushroom | The Mini Mushroom causes players to grow smaller. It also restricts the dice block; instead of rolling 1-10, it only rolls 1-5. However, the Mini Mushroom can cause players to play Mini Mini-games; plus, they can move through Gates. |
| File:Super Mega Mushroom.JPG | Super Mega Mushroom | A Super Mega Mushroom has generally the same effects as a Mega Mushroom except that players roll three dice blocks instead of two. |
| File:Super Mini Mushroom.JPG | Super Mini Mushroom | A Super Mini Mushroom has generally the same effects as a Mini Mushroom except that players roll two 1-5 dice blocks instead of just one. |
| File:Warp Pipe.JPG | Warp Pipe | When players use a Warp Pipe, a roulette that has the heads of the other characters appears. An arrow spins and players can stop the arrow. When the arrow stops on a character's head, the player swaps places with that character. |
| File:Swap Card.JPG | Swap Card | The Swap Card randomly choose another player via roulette and the player who used it swaps items with the chosen player. |
| File:Mini-Mega Hammer.JPG | Mini-Mega Hammer | When players use a Mini-Mega Hammer, they may choose another player. Then, the character that player chooses either feels the effects of a Mega Mushroom or a Mini Mushroom on the next turn, though the effects are randomly chosen. |
| File:Chomp Call.JPG | Chomp Call | If a Chomp Call is used, four small Chain Chomps appear and scare the host that holds the star in the star space. Afterward, the location of the star space changes. |
| File:Boo's Crystal Ball.JPG | Boo's Crystal Ball | When a Boo Crystal Ball is used, a Boo appears and does either of the following: A) The Boo steals coins from a selected player with a five-coin fee. The victim can fight back and lose less coins by repeatedly pressing  . B) The Boo steals a star from another player with a 50 coin fee. The victim cannot fight back. However, if the victim has a Gaddlight, the victim is protected.
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| File:Gaddlight.JPG | Gaddlight | The Gaddlight automatically protects the player from Boo attacks by another player trying to steal either coins or a star. |
| File:Sparky Sticker.JPG | Sparky Sticker | When players use a Sparky Sticker, they place it directly below where they are standing. If any player tries to pass it, the player loses 10 coins plus the effects of a Mega Mushroom or a Mini Mushroom. |
| File:Item Bag.JPG | Item Bag | The effects of an Item Bag activate as soon as players purchase this item. They receive three random items. If they already have one or two items, the items found in the bag get discarded. |
| File:Genie Lamp.PNG | Magic Lamp | When players use this, they summon a Mushroom Genie. The Mushroom Genie then transports them to the star space. However, they still must pay 20 coins for the star. |
| File:Bowser Suit.JPG | Bowser Suit | Players can only acquire this from Bowser when they land on a Bowser Space. If they use this, they go in a Bowser Suit. If they pass anyone else, they steal 30 coins. |
Spaces
| Image | Space | Description |
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Blue Space | If players land on this space, they receive three coins. On the last five turns, the coins received may double if the losing player hits the roulette wheel and has that event as a result. |
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Red Space | If players land on this space, they lose three coins. On the last five turns, the coins lost may double if the losing player hits the roulette wheel and has that event as a result. |
| File:Happening Space4.PNG | Happening Space | If players land on this space, they trigger an event. The event varies within the board. The event may help or hinder one or more players. |
| File:Bowser Square.PNG | Bowser Space | If players land on this space, either a Koopa Kid/Mini-Bowser or Bowser appear. The Koopa Kid can take coins from either the player who landed on it or from everyone. If Bowser appears, he can cause the following events: Bowser Revolution, which he divides everyone's coins equally; Bowser Minigame where he forces everyone to play his minigames; Bowser Shuffle, which he randomly swaps places with all of the players; or Bowser Suit, which he gives the player a Bowser Suit. The latter event is rare. Sometimes, Bowser can come out after Koopa Kid on the same Bowser Space. |
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Fortune Space | If players land on this space, an event occurs, and they use the Reversal of Fortune, which resembles a pinball machine. The results may vary such as the player swapping stars with another or the player giving coins to the other. |
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Mushroom Space | If players land on this space, two boxes appear: one small, one large. The player chooses one box and may receive a Mega Mushroom or a Mini Mushroom, regardless the size of the box. |
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Warp Space | If players land on this space, an arrow spins on a roulette, showing the other three character's heads. The player can stop the roulette. If the arrow is pointing to one of the character's head, the space, which is actually a spring, launches the character to the chosen character. |
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Battle Space | If players land on this space, a Bob-omb appears and starts a battle minigame. The player who landed on the Battle Space may choose one of the two battle minigames shown. |
Extra Room
Thwomp and Whomp have a room full of bonus minigames. These minigames can be played on two bonus boards. Their minigames are:
One Player (Whomp's Basement Brouhaha)
Multiplayer (Thwomp's Backroom Ball)
Thowmp's Backroom Ball is like the rest of the game modes except it doesn't feature minigames, therefore the player has to stay on the game board for the entire time.
Other
Also featured is a bonus volleyball game, hosted by a Ztar. Finally, players are able to access the Present Room, which allows them to view all the presents that the player has accumulated throughout the Story Mode for each character.
Minigames
- Main article: List of minigames in Mario Party 4
Staff
- Main article: List of Mario Party 4 staff
Gallery
Reception
Mario Party 4 received mostly mixed and positive reviews from critics. GameSpot's Ryan Davis praised the game's mini-game format, but noted that "players that who already exhausted themselves on pervious Mario Party titles may not have enough here to draw them back again". Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell acknowledged the variety and thematic features of the boards, but thought they were too large, resulting in a "glacial pace" when coupled with the on-board animations. Despite this, IGN praised the boards for their thematic features on each one, which helped "ease the tediousness". New gameplay features such as the mushroom system received a negative review from multiple critics, with frustration being expressed at not being able to enter shops or purchase stars with big characters. The game's multiplayer was praised by reviews, especially in comparison to the single player mode, "Story Mode". The minigames were mainly met with a positive reaction, with critics praising their simplicity.
Mario Party 4 is the 7th best selling game for Nintendo GameCube, with approximately 2 million copies were sold worldwide, 1.1 million copies in US, and 902,827 copies in Japan, as of December 31, 2009.
References to previous games
- Mario Party 2: Bowser's Bigger Blast is a port of Bowser's Big Blast.
References in later games
- Mario Party Advance: Many songs from Mario Party 4 are remixed in Advance including the main menu theme as Advance's passport theme.
- Mario Party DS: Bob-omb Breakers returns as a puzzle minigame.
Trivia
- This is the first Mario series installment overall to have Princess Peach and Princess Daisy in their current main dresses, as well as Princess Daisy's current appearance.
- This is the last Mario Party game to have Donkey Kong as a fully playable character. Starting in Mario Party 5, Donkey Kong hosts his own space.
- This game completes a revamp in the 3-D art direction of the Mario franchise that started with Luigi's Mansion and continued with Super Mario Sunshine.
- Five of the six hosts became playable characters in later Mario Party installments.
- This is the first Mario Party game since Mario Party to not have any duel minigames.
